New Seven Wonders of the World
By brnaeem on Jul 9, 2007 in
I had read a few months ago about the international campaign for the new seven wonders of the world. Well, they finalized their new seven and announced them yesterday in a big celebration in Portugal.
The good news is that two of the seven are associated with Muslims. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, which was built by the Mogul Ruler Shah Jahan, is clearly an example of Islamic architecture at its best. Note that I said Islamic, not Indian, for too many people, even Muslims, have portrayed it as an icon unique to Indian culture. The Taj Mahal is something that Muslims all over should be proud of.
Now I have trouble being equally proud of the other ‘Muslim’ marvel, Petra in Jordan. Its nice to see this hidden gem of the Muslim world finally recognized as a wonder of the world. However, I can’t but help think of its Quranic history as one of the perished nations (That second link has some *really* nice pics of Petra, so its hard not to be impressed by its wondrous construction and breathtaking architecture).
But I just can’t get the following verse out of my mind: “And Thamud who carved the rocks in the valley” (89:9) Should we really be celebrating the accomplishments of a people who were cursed for eternity in the words of the Quran?
But I guess in this day and age, we should take what we can get, eh?
BTW, of the other 14 finalists who lost out in the voting, three have Islamic affiliations - AlHambra palace in Spain, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, and Timbuktu (home to one of the first universities in history, Sankore Madarasa) in Mali.
Oh and if you’re wondering about the Pyramids, worry not for our dear Egyptian brothers felt themselves to be too good for the competition, claiming that the pyramids of Giza were the only wonder of the world and the competition “has no value”, because “the masses do not write history”.
Glad to see them taking a principled stance on issues that really matter.
Source: Naeem’s Blog
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Manas Shaikh | Jul 9, 2007 | Reply
I agree that we should not celebrate the win of the Thamud people’s carvings- yet- if it generates more tourism, more people would probably have come to see it, and InshaAllah, will be attracted to Islam.
You forget to mention one more. The Kremlin is deeply influenced by teh Islamic architecture, and shows how far Islam’s influence is.
brnaeem | Jul 10, 2007 | Reply
Manas, Thanks for bringing up the Kremlin - I couldn’t find anything explicitly stating that the St. Basil Cathedral was influenced by Islamic architecture.
Are we to assume that any building with dome-like structures or minaret-like pillars is influenced by Muslims? I don’t have enough knowledge on the topic to say.
Manas Shaikh | Jul 10, 2007 | Reply
The shape of the dome is important. The dome that first bulges and then becomes leaner is Islamic. Earlier domes were reducing in diameter all the way up. Look at Hagia Sophia by Justinian if you are not sure what I mean. Compare that with Taj Mahal.
Russia is deeply influenced by Islam. Islam reached there before christianity did. Their culture too shows some influence of Islam